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DETROIT -- Ford Motor Co. again is facing the threat of a boycott of its vehicles in the United States. The American Family Association, along with 41 other organizations nationwide, sent a letter to Chairman William Clay Ford Jr., yesterday giving the automaker an ultimatum to stop supporting homosexual groups and pull its ads from gay publications or risk a boycott of Ford products by the conservative Christian group. "We strongly suggest that Ford remove itself from involvement in the cultural war and apply its resources to building the best product possible," AFA Chairman Donald E. Wildmon said in the letter, which was sent Tuesday.

State police in Westminster are advising owners of all-terrain vehicles to take extra care when storing the popular four-wheelers, saying more than a half-dozen have been stolen since the beginning of summer.Thieves pried a lock from a Hampstead homeowner's shed in the 900 block of Houcksville Road about 1 a.m. Sunday and stole two all-terrain vehicles, state police said.The loss was estimated at $6,850.Troopers at the Westminster barracks say owners should place the four-wheelers out of sight in locked buildings when not using them, and chain the vehicles, if possible, to a stable post within the building.

At least one person was injured yesterday evening when five vehicles, including a tractor-trailer, collided in the Harbor Tunnel, authorities said. The southbound tube was closed for maintenance at the time of the accident, about 7:30 p.m., and the open tube was handling traffic in both directions, police said. According to an initial account from police, the accident was triggered by one vehicle crossing the center line and colliding with an oncoming vehicle. Three other vehicles, including the tractor-trailer, also became involved.

Federal auto safety regulators are launching a new test to simulate how likely vehicles are to roll over in emergency maneuvers. The dynamic test simulates a panic maneuver at 35 to 50 mph in which a driver would abruptly turn the wheel left to avoid going off the road and then steer back to the right into the proper lane. Congress mandated a dynamic rollover test for new vehicles in 2000 in response to nearly 300 rollover deaths attributed to Firestone tire failures. Most of the deaths occurred in Ford Explorer sport utility vehicles.

Gov. Martin O'Malley, whose administration has become increasingly focused on energy policy, announced plans yesterday to build ethanol pump stations around Maryland so the state's 1,200 flex-fuel vehicles can more easily fill up with the renewable fuel. The state has never been able to meet a goal set more than seven years ago under Gov. Parris N. Glendening's administration that flex-fuel vehicles in the state's fleet use alternative fuels half the time on average. State auditors have criticized the Maryland Energy Administration several times for falling short of that goal and making no formal timetable to meet it. The crux of the problem has been a lack of infrastructure.

A three-vehicle crash clogged traffic on Interstate 95 north in past exit 67 to White Marsh Boulevard in Baltimore County Wednesday afternoon. A state police official said no injuries were reported. The crash happened shortly after 3:30 p.m., closing two right hand lanes and shoulder. jkanderson@baltsun.com twitter.com/janders5

By Ricardo A. Zaldivar and Ricardo A. Zaldivar,SPECIAL TO THE SUN | February 3, 2003

WASHINGTON - The bad habits of gas-guzzling, road-hogging sport utility vehicles are a red-hot topic, but consumers bought 4 million of them last year, and the Bush administration is unlikely to impose safety and environmental changes that could kill the market. America's infatuation with the off-road behemoths that became a suburban creature comfort doesn't seem headed toward a rejection of SUVs - only a desire to tame them by making them less prone to flip over or crush cars in collisions, and somewhat less wasteful of fuel.

Several years of spectacular automobile sales are coming back to haunt bankers, sapping profits by hundreds of millions of dollars as cars and popular sport utility vehicles leased by consumers sink in value. The sudden turn in the red-hot auto industry is forcing bankers to sell vehicles at 2 percent to 6 percent below original estimates. The banking industry's troubles are nowhere near the magnitude of the billions in losses in the 1980s from bad loans to Latin America, experts say, but they are cutting into the bottom line and worrying analysts.

Toyota Motor Corp., the biggest Japanese automaker in the U.S., accounted for almost half of the industry's "most reliable" vehicles and again dominated an annual survey by Consumer Reports magazine. Toyota built 21 of the 47 autos with the highest rating for reliability, the magazine said in its new-car preview issue, which again ranks Asian products as the most dependable overall. The results illustrate the challenges facing General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and DaimlerChrysler AG as they try to win back customers in their home market.

If GM's problems make you think America's love affair with cars may over, you should stop by Russell Toyota on Route 40 West in Baltimore and have a chat with Andy Seidenman, the sales manager. Seidenman's problem is finding cars, not customers. Like other Toyota dealers across the nation, he has trouble keeping the Prius, Toyota's hybrid-engine car, on his showroom floor. The widely praised Prius, which promises 51 miles to the gallon on the highway at a time when gasoline is retailing for between $2.20 and $2.30 a gallon, has become wildly popular.